Digimon Fan Fiction / Fatal Fury Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ THE BOYZ ❯ Boyz Play Rough, Round 2 ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Robster80 presents...

THE BOYZ:
Part 8 - Boyz Play Rough, Round 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this series.

Previously (Quatre): TK easily defeated kickboxing champion Joe Higashi in the second round of the Tournament, stunning the Digi-Destined watching from his parents' apartment. Shampoo and Cologne saw Ranma on TV getting ready for his match with Wufei, and hurried over only to be stopped by Piccolo. Terry Bogard and Ranma moved on to the semi-finals along with TK and Ryoga, and the first match is between Ranma and Ryoga. I hope this doesn't turn into a death match, considering these two are fierce rivals...



Akane paled a little when the TV showed the upcoming match to be between Ryoga and Ranma. She knew that they weren't very good friends, and that this fight could easily turn ugly. If only she knew why they fought so much.

The silly bread feud couldn't have been the main cause anymore; Ryoga said that when he first came to Nerima. It was something bigger.

Did Ryoga love Akane? If so, was Ranma jealous? It would make sense, since she got jealous of the other girls being with Ranma. That would only be fair if Ranma was jealous of Ryoga. But, why would Ryoga take an interest in her? What did she ever do besides be kind to him?

Akane then realized Ryoga didn't start being nice to her until the day after he fought Ranma and accidentally cut her long hair. There went another possibility for why Ryoga wanted Ranma dead so much when he first arrived.

<Wait! Ryoga did mention that he had been searching for Ranma when he learned he went to China. Could it be... Ryoga ended up at...>

Akane didn't want to think of it, but that was a good possibility. She'd ask Ryoga the next time she saw him. And if he lied to her, she'd hang him from his yellow and black bandana. The one that looked like the bandana P-chan had around his neck.

<Like... the bandana P-chan had... around his... neck...>

Time seemed to freeze for Akane. The realization hit her between the eyes as numerous clues she turned a blind eye to before because she didn't really notice resurfaced in her mind.

Ryoga's fear of cold water.

Ryoga's reluctance to eat pork products.

Why both Ryoga and P-chan hated Ranma so much and would get lost for weeks at a time.

Most importantly, why Ranma was so persistent in keeping P-chan from sharing her bed that he'd go as far as sneaking into her room while she was asleep. She had never really understood why he brought in a kettle of hot water with him when he did so.

Until now.

Denial washed over Akane. Ryoga could not be P-chan. There was just no way. Ranma was just messing with her head.

And yet, there was this nagging, angry voice in her mind. What if Ranma was right, that Ryoga and P-chan were one and the same? What if she did notice this, but waved it off like Kuno did with Ranma's curse? Was she that blinded by her pride; her anger towards Ranma because he insulted her and was better at things than her?

Another realization hit Akane, one brought up by the psychiatrist during her previous sessions: Ranma had been raised by his father for most of his life. Uncle Saotome had taught him well about the martial arts and of honor. But there was one thing he had neglected to teach his son: how to love someone and treat them properly. With all of the insults that had passed between them, Akane never gave one thought as to how Ranma had been raised. And by whom.

Her father had never taught her how to love someone, either. She thought she knew it all when she fell for Dr. Tofu. However, now that Ranma was in her life, she came to realize she still had a lot to learn about love.

"The fighters are now entering the ring, and they seem to not only know each other, but loathe each other as well."

The announcer's voice snapped Akane back into reality. Ranma and Ryoga were about to duke it out. She silently prayed that they both didn't kill each other, especially Ranma.




******************************************** ************************************


"Remember the rules," the announcer said to Ranma and Ryoga. "No hitting below the belt, no eye-poking, and absolutely NO killing!"

Ryoga walked over to Ranma until they were two or three feet apart. "I hope Akane's watching this, so she can see how badly I beat you and realize you're not the one for her-."

Ranma's temper was rising. "Leave Akane out of this, pork chop! This fight's only about us: the bread feud and Jusenkyo. Got that?"

"See? You prove your unworthiness by leaving her out, since you've done your best to keep me from her-."

"She's NOT a goddamn trophy, you rock-headed, bacon-breath, hentai baka!!!! Akane's her own person, just like I am!!!! But do you or those airheads, and I mean both rivals and fiancées alike, listen? NO!!! You're gonna learn that... as I pound you into a bloody pulp!"

Saying this, Ranma leapt backward before getting into a stance. "No more holding back as much as I used to, P-chan! You're up against the NEW Ranma Saotome."

The officials of the tournament could tell Ryoga was starting to lose his temper. One of them rang the gong to begin the match a split second before Ryoga started toward his rival.

"I'm gonna break you, Ranma!!"

Ranma just glared. <Not if I break you first. And if your curse is revealed during the fight, then so be it.>


***************************************************** ***************************


Terry Bogard and TK watched from the benches as Ranma took Ryoga's hits without even flinching or blocking. Terry was amazed. "How can he take all of that?"

"Endurance training," TK said. "As for why he's letting Ryoga attack him like that, he's testing to see how much Ryoga has trained since they last met."

"Rivals?"

"Big time."

"Ranma seems to be enjoying it-."

"He'd murder you if he heard that. He's fed up with the rivalries he has. Once he's seen enough, he'll show us all the anger and frustration inside him he gained from all of his rivals, especially from this guy."

Terry said nothing for a moment, then quickly stated "I hope this Ryoga has good insurance then..."


**************************************************** ****************************


<I used to be worried about getting hit by this guy,> Ranma thought as Ryoga continued to strike him with his fists. <That's because of how strong he was. Now, I can't even feel the hits. Piccolo's punches had more effect than this! I'm not even moving back from the blows.>

Blinded by his rage, Ryoga didn't notice this, either. He simply continued to fling his fists, thinking he was finally killing Ranma. He didn't care about the rules. Akane was as good as his now.

Suddenly, Ryoga's fists stopped. He noticed that Ranma had grabbed them with his hands, which were amazingly holding them in place. Ryoga was very confused. Wasn't he supposed to be stronger than Ranma?

"That," Ranma started to say, "surprisingly, tickled a little."

Ryoga just stood there. His jaw absentmindedly dropped a little. "It... tickled?"

"My turn now!"

There was no time to react. In less than a second, the air in Ryoga's lungs was forced out of them after Ranma delivered a hard punch into the gut. The bandana-wearing teen doubled over from the blow, gasping for air.

"You've had this coming for a very long time, piggy."

That was all Ranma said before he did a spin kick that sent Ryoga flying to near the edge of the ring.


******************************************************* *************************


Nabiki flinched after seeing Ranma deliver his kick to Ryoga's face on TV. "Ouch! I don't care if that is Ryoga, that has GOT to hurt!"

Soun nodded in agreement. <It seems Ranma is unleashing his anger for Ryoga at long last. At moments like these, I am glad I listened to Genma and kept quiet about Ryoga's curse.>

Genma was having similar thoughts. <Ranma, my boy, this is the moment I knew would come. By making sure that Akane never knew about Ryoga's curse, perhaps now you can finally show her how you really feel for her... and have a little payback while you're at it.>

Akane watched the fight carefully. The kick Ranma had used, as well as his punch, were harder than any he had ever given to an opponent before; harder than his fights with Pantyhose Tarou.

And the way Ryoga had gotten angry and attacked Ranma. She could have sworn that Ranma had called him something with the word pig in it, by carefully reading his lips.

The pieces were still coming together, and it looked more and more obvious that Akane's suspicions of Ryoga being P-chan were valid.

Nodoka just shook her head, watching her son fight his supposed friend. <Boys and their little fights... Ranma still has a way to go before he is truly a man.>


**************************************************** ****************************


Mr. Popo had thought he had seen nearly everything, living up on Kami's Lookout high over the earth. However, what he had seen just now was most shocking.

Piccolo had returned, with two women under his arms: one old and short, the other young and tall with purple hair.

"Piccolo... since when did you start picking up girls?"

Piccolo retained his frown. "Now is not the time for jokes, Mr. Popo. I wish to speak to Dende immediately."

Shampoo blinked. "Dende? Shampoo thought green man say we speak with Kami."

"Dende is my real name," came a voice from the nearby palace door. Everyone looked to see a smaller Piccolo look-alike emerge from the darkness. "And I would be glad if you didn't call me Kami-sama." He paused, eyeing the girls. "Perhaps your time on this planet has changed your nature, Piccolo. Until now, we Namekians were an asexual race."

"Asexual," Shampoo repeated carefully. "Where fun in that?"

Piccolo rolled his eyes. "I repeat, now is NOT the time for jokes! Dende, this is a matter that needs your attention. These two ladies are members of a tribe of Chinese Amazons, and are... acquaintances of our friend Ranma Saotome."

"Ah yes," Dende said. "The one who fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl at Jusenkyo?"

At that moment, Cologne chimed in. "Yes, and, by our Amazon laws, he is the rightful husband of my great-granddaughter Shampoo here."

Dende's eyes fell on the old Amazon matriarch. "Mr. Popo has told me of your clan, elder Cologne... and my predecessor left several important notes about your laws as well. Since you claim that Ranma is Shampoo's husband, I take it he defeated her in combat?"

"Twice," Shampoo quickly stated. "Once in girl-form, though we not know at time, and once in male-form. I give him kiss of marriage for defeating me."

"Ranma is not interested in marrying Shampoo," Piccolo spoke up. "In fact, he downright refuses to be a part of a female-dominant society. He also says that the second time he defeated Shampoo was not in combat against her, but an accident-."

Shampoo's face went red with anger, but a bit of sweat came from her brow. Luckily for her, no one noticed. "NOT TRUE! Ranma defeat Shampoo fair and square!"

Mr. Popo simply stood off to the side, listening to the argument presented to Dende. This was also a new event he had never seen before.

Finally, Dende decided to take charge of the situation. He slammed his long stick onto the tiled grounds of his home to silence everyone. "As the current kami-sama, I can still decide whether or not Ranma and Shampoo are married regardless of your laws. However, I wish to hear Ranma's side of the story and then compare his to Shampoo's to see if both are telling the truth. Piccolo, will you go fetch him?"

Piccolo was about to say that he would, but then remembered where Ranma was at. "He's... occupied for a while. But I can telepathically inform him that he's to come here soon."


****************************************************** **************************


It was an interesting round at the tournament. Ryoga was being beaten quite badly by Ranma, who appeared to have become much stronger than Ryoga was. He was actually bleeding from his nose and lower lip, while Ranma only had a slight bruise on his one cheek.

Ryoga did have a new move he learned a while ago: he called it the Iron Fist, after the super hero he met during an unexpected visit to America. It wasn't exactly a ki punch, but with it he could more easily shatter rocks and bend steel with one hit.

Before the match, Ryoga decided not to use the Iron Fist on Ranma, on account that he didn't need it to win. However, after the first several hits he had taken, Ryoga lost his temper and used it to hit Ranma in the face.

Had it been any other person, the skull would have cracked on impact and killed the person.

Ranma, however, only got a bruise. Yet, he felt some pain from the attack. He paused, looking at Ryoga. "That's it? Is that all you got: a jacked-up punch?! My sparring partner TK can hit harder than that, and he's three years younger than the two of us!"

It was all a complete shocker for Ryoga. The Iron Fist had failed. He couldn't hurt Ranma much anymore. And his most hated rival of all had outdone his strength. Depression washed over him like a tsunami*.

*A tidal wave, for those who don't know that.

Ranma leapt back quickly. He knew that Ryoga was pulling out his trump card: The Shi Shi Houkodan.

<Now to show Ryoga what a real ki attack can do! I've been practicing since I saw TK do this move, but I haven't perfected it yet. If there's ever a time to get this right, it's now!>

Both TK and Terry could feel a somewhat strong ki building up in Ryoga as they watched from the sidelines. However, they couldn't quite place it.

"Have you ever-?" Terry began to ask.

"No," TK quickly replied. "But, I have a good idea that Ryoga's using a ki attack with his depression. It's not as powerful as a real ki attack, but it can do some damage just as well."

Ranma remembered what happened when Ryoga tapped into a full Shi Shi Houkodan: The attack would go straight up, then down upon both the user and his aggressor. Ranma had been using his Mouko Takashiba, fueled by his pride, to counter Ryoga's move in the past, but not this time. Not ever again.

[Ranma!]

The familiar voice didn't faze Ranma as he went through the motions of an attack TK knew well. [Can it wait, Piccolo? I'm in the middle of a ki face-off here.]

[I've noticed. Just finish this match and fast! Dende wants you to come here as soon as the tournament is over to settle this Amazon business for good, so beat Ryoga and be done with it!]

[No problem!]

Gohan blinked from his seat next to his mother and Quatre. Since when did Ranma know the Kamehameha Wave?

Vash nudged Quatre before whispering a question. "Why does that other guy look like he's about to cry?"

"Ranma told me about this sort of attack: a person powers up using his depression and then unleashes a powerful beam at his target."

Finally, Ryoga threw his arms into the air and cried out, "FULL SHI SHI HOUKODAN!!!!"

At that moment, Ranma shoved his open hands forward and shouted, "KAMEHAMEHA!!!!"

Ryoga's ki blast had barely started to move upward when he was hit by the oncoming blue blast. The force of it not only dispersed his attack, but also sent him flying out of the ring and right into several containers of ice water. Upon impact, the containers burst open and showered Ryoga with water and ice.

Ranma smiled and stood tall. There would be no way he'd try to cover this up, especially since this was being televised.

The referee and the announcer rushed over to the now large pile of ice cubes to see if Ryoga was injured badly. To their surprise, a small black piglet wearing Ryoga's bandana around its neck jumped out and landed on top of the ice. Realizing what had happened, it then quickly dashed off, looking for an exit.

Everyone was speechless, including Mr. Satan. What sort of trick was this? What had happened to Ryoga?

Finally, the referee took the mic from the announcer. "Words cannot express how stupefied I am as to what happened to Ryoga. However, since he touched the water containers, which were outside the ring, he is automatically declared the loser! Ranma Saotome advances to the finals!"

At that moment, from his booth, Mr. Satan spoke into his microphone. "I agree with the official on this, ladies and gentlemen. Despite the sudden disappearing act of this Ryoga kid, and also the trick lightshow, this round was definitely fantastic! Ranma, congratulations on your victory!

After a moment, thunderous cheers came from the stadium for Ranma, and a few chants of "Satan" as well for Mr. Satan's statement.

Still, Ranma walked off the ring with little joy. "Lightshow, my ass," he muttered. "That guy wouldn't know a miracle if it bit him on the nose and in his ass. Still, I pulled off a Kamehameha finally... and got Ryoga back for good this time. I wonder if Akane saw what happened?"


************************************************** ******************************


The Tendo home was awkwardly silent, with everyone's eyes open wide save for Happosai, Genma, and Soun. Just seconds ago, they saw Ryoga crash into water containers filled with ice and cold water, and then P-chan emerged from the ice where Ryoga should have been.

This was the final proof for Akane: Ryoga was P-chan, and Ranma had been trying to protect her from him.

Nodoka's mouth fell open in shock. During her visits, she had seen Akane with the piglet that was now on TV. That pig had really been Ryoga all along; a victim of Jusenkyo just like Ranma. A quick glance told her that Akane had never known this until just now. <And I thought Ryoga was such a nice boy! Ranma had only been trying to protect Akane all along!>

"Oh my," was all Kasumi could say.

"I do NOT believe this," Nabiki exclaimed. "How the hell could I have NOT known about this?! I have tons of dirt on just about everyone in this town and then some, and yet something like this was right under my nose all along! Heads are gonna roll when I'm done-!"

Suddenly, all eyes were on Akane, who seemed to be frozen. She was the main victim in this revelation. Her pet pig, which she slept with and held close to her chest, was really a boy who had fallen in love with her and kept his Jusenkyo curse a secret for over two years.

Happosai silently cursed Ryoga's luck at having been closer to Akane's chest than he ever would be.

Genma and Soun both prayed that Akane didn't realize that they had known about this.

Nabiki decided to make Ryoga see hell for the rest of his life for his perverted acts on her little sister.

Finally, Akane stood up, and released her anger. "IF I EVER SEE HIM AGAIN, I'LL ROAST HIM FOR RANMA FOR DINNER!!!"

"He's no longer welcome in this house," Soun added.

"And," Kasumi raised her voice a bit. "We all owe Ranma an apology. All this time, he was trying to protect Akane from that... that pervert!" It was the first time she had ever gotten angry at anyone.

At this, Akane sank to her knees and sobbed. "Ranma... oh, Ranma, I didn't know..."

Nodoka was the first to pull Akane into a motherly hug. "You can apologize to him when he comes home, dear..." <If he ever comes home...>


************************************************* *******************************


"What the heck happened to that guy?"

Ranma turned to see TK and Terry both walking up to him. He sighed. "Long story, man. Mostly involving a cursed training ground in China. Maybe when this is all over, I'll explain."

TK then smiled. "Congrats on the win anyway, Ranma, and for mastering the Kamehameha."

"I wouldn't have figured it out of it if you hadn't learned it first, TK. By the way, I won't go easy on you in the finals."

TK looked at Terry, then back at Ranma. "It's early yet. I'll concentrate on one fight at a time."

"Make it fast, though. We have to meet up with Piccolo right afterwards so I can hopefully get out of my engagement with Shampoo." Ranma faced Terry quickly and added, "That's another long story starting in China, and one I do NOT wanna get into."

"NEXT ROUND, TK TAKAISHI VS TERRY BOGARD!!"

"That's our cue," TK said before tearing off his turban and heavy shoulder pads and cape. "All set, Terry?"

Terry adjusted his ball cap slightly. "After you, my young friend."


**************************************************** ****************************


Everyone in the Ishida apartment glued their eyes to the TV screen once the next round was announced. It would be TK's second fight in the tournament, and against Terry Bogard at that.

Matt smiled and he wrapped his arm around Kristen. "Win or lose, TK'll say that this was the best day of his life. Not only does he meet with Terry Bogard, but he gets to throw hands with him as well."

<And get pulped,> Davis added mentally. <Even I'm not stupid enough to try to impress Kari this way. After all, she is mine now.>

Ken looked at Matt. "I really don't know about this, Matt. Nothing against TK, but Terry is a lot better than Joe Higashi. After all, he defeated Geese Howard when no one else was able to."

Tai quickly countered, "But TK was the one who defeated Devimon during our first digital adventure by making Patamon digivolve to Angemon."

"And he got Angemon to become Magna-Angemon to save both himself and me from Piedmon sometime after that," Kari added with pride. "Not to mention he rescued me from the Dark Ocean back when you were misguided into being the Digimon Emperor."

"In other words," Vegeta finished for Kari. "TK has more power than even you kids know, minus Matt and this girl... Kari, is it?" He leaned back into his seat, a big smile on his lips. "Still, if he were my student-."

"He'd have never lived to see his next birthday."

Vegeta frowned at his wife, who smiled back at him. "That black cartoon duck said it best, woman... 'Tain't funny, MaGee.'"

Jun then thought of something. "Hm, maybe... I'm going after the wrong Ishida boy," she said aloud.

Suddenly, Sora, Matt, Yolei, Mimi, Kristen, and Kari surrounded Jun. All of them glared and shouted, Kari being the loudest, "YOU DO AND YOU'LL BE SIX FEET UNDER!!!!"

"I can arrange that," Vegeta said happily. "If you throw in her brother."

Mr. Ishida then said, "QUIET!!! The match is about to begin."


To Be Continued...


Next (TK): It's a dream come true, as I face off against my idol, Terry Bogard. Despite my training, however, he's got more experience than I do, as well as a few moves that I never knew he had. Then, just before the final match can begin, this big muscular guy shows up, challenging Terry to a fight. From the look of him, he definitely won't take "no" for an answer. Next episode: TK VS Terry - Angel VS Wolf. It's a fan's wish come true. BURN KNUCKLE!!!!!

Author's note: Sorry, forgot about TK's other relation coming into this chapter, but she will come soon. And I apologize for taking so long in finishing this chapter. I got lazy over the holidays. :-D Part 9 TBD